Many parents have brought these concerns listed in the report to the Chicago Board of Education and have been dismissed by CEO Forrest Claypool and called “factually inaccurate” by Board of Education President Frank Clark.

1,000 signatures

We demand that you:

fire CEO Forrest Claypool;

free the funds from city coffers that you previously promised for the CPS budget;

follow Federal IDEA Guidelines by eliminating burdensome and duplicative data collection and service-justification forms that keep special education staff away from direct service to students in the classroom;

restore busing service to all CPS students with special needs, based on what an IEP or 504 Team deems appropriate;

cancel the contracts with Crowe Horwath, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG intended to systematically restrict provision of special education services; and

redirect the monies for Items (3) and (6) toward direct special education services in the classroom.

CPS has institutionalized illegal and systemic violations of the rights of students with special needs since the July 2016 release of the CPS Special Education Procedural Manual. Children who have special needs have a small window of opportunity to make progress toward the goals of education, independence, contribution and self-reliance. We expect your immediate attention to these demands. Please contact Mary Hughes to discuss your plan for the resolution of this matter.